


Didn’t See Him Coming

by Night_Hawk94



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), bughead - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bumping into an old friend who’s hot, Change can be good, Childhood Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Foreplay, Journalist!Betty, Jug got hot, Love Stories, Oneshot, Smut, Sneaking Around, Strangers to Lovers, photographer!jughead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 03:22:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16715687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Night_Hawk94/pseuds/Night_Hawk94
Summary: Betty Cooper doesn’t like change, especially when it’s drastic and unexpected ... So what will happen when she moves back to Riverdale with her mother and bumps into a vastly different Jughead Jones after 11 years apart?





	Didn’t See Him Coming

**Author's Note:**

> Just something fun I wrote ... Enjoy!! Xx

If there was one sure and certain thing about life it’s that “change” is almost always unexpected. Even when it isn’t. Even when there’s some kind of warning beforehand, it’s always hard to truly know exactly what will happen or what to expect.

 

At least, that’s what Betty Cooper liked to believe anyway.

 

She wasn’t a massive fan of change, but at 21, she wasn’t young and naive enough to think that her life, as it was right now, would always be the same either. She knew that it would change. That it had already so many times before and she knew that it wouldn’t stop anytime soon. Moving to suburbs in New York City when she was just ten years old was a change. Her growing up, graduating from high school and then from college was also a change. Her parents getting divorced and the decision to move back to her hometown with her mother was just another one in between all the others that had occurred.

 

It was inevitable and she knew that.

 

When her mother told her that they would be going back to Riverdale to- as she had put it; “start anew” - Betty wasn’t that surprised, but she wasn’t thrilled about it either. Technically she didn’t have to go. She was an adult now and was perfectly capable of heading off to live her own life, but when the question was eventually proposed to her, she took one look at her life and then at her miserable and dispirited mother, thinking; “We could both use a change of scenery right now.”

 

In the years that had passed since they’d moved away from Riverdale, she’d barely thought about the so called; “Town With Pep”, but on the few and not so few occasions when she had, she always wondered if anyone or if anything had actually changed within its well established boundaries.

 

For the most part it hadn’t.

 

It was late when they arrived, but even in the distinct darkness Betty could see everything as clear as day, drawing it all from memory.

 

She watched the town go by in a slight blur. The town hall, the library, the police station, Riverdale High, Pops diner. The Riverdale Register. It was all still there, as static as the day she’d left it all behind. Even her old home looked the same. Red door, white walls, cracked concrete steps and all. With the only real change to the whole scene being a different owner.

 

The first week back passed in a busy haze of unpacking and settling into their new three bedroom apartment. Through her own tenacity, Betty got a job working as a junior freelance journalist at the Register and on days when she wasn’t working or generally busy, she would take a walk around town, trying to get a feel for it again after a life spent living in a bustling city.

 

For obvious and not so obvious reasons, it felt a little weird being being back, almost as if she had traveled back to a time when the world used to be a giant playground to her.

 

Every person she passed basically looked the same, maybe a little older and more defined in years, but still easy enough to recognize in a crowd.

She wondered idly what they must think of her now that she was 21 and a freshly graduated journalist. Would they notice that she liked to wear her blonde hair in a ponytail instead of piggy tails now or that she usually preferred jeans, t-shirt, jerseys and cardigans over skirts and frilly dresses these days? Would they even realise that she wasn’t the same little girl they all remembered?

 

Sometimes she considered trying to make it more clear to them, but then she thought about how amusing it would be to let them figure it out for themselves.

 

 

Needless to say, she had to sift through a couple more weeks filled with a quiet work schedule and some quality time with her mother before Betty finally came across something that broke the seemingly uniformed nature of Riverdale.

 

It was late in the morning and she had just finished having breakfast with her mom at Pops when she saw him.

 

He was sitting on his bike at the far end of the parking lot, smoking a cigarette, his leg pulled up onto the foot rest with his one elbow resting on his knee. Despite how warm the day was already, he was wearing more layers than should be comfortable or even bearable, layers made up of faded jeans, worn combat boots, a t-shirt and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing the array of tattoos that covered his one forearm.

 

Betty noticed that he was staring at something in the distance, clearly deep in thought and the first thing that popped into her head was that he was ... different, but also alluring and oddly familiar at the same time, if that was even possible. She was still looking, still staring right at him when he suddenly turned his head and caught her eye for a second, long enough for her to swallow thickly and consider the possibility that she actually did know him from somewhere.

 

She looked away immediately and kept on walking. No. No way. It was impossible. She pushed the thought aside as quickly as it had formed, certain that she was wrong until she reached her mother’s car and heard the unmistakable sound of someone approaching from behind.

 

“Betty?”

 

She frowned and turned around slowly, her eyes falling on the stranger from the bike again, only this time he was standing right in front of her, smiling at her brightly and in a way that made her throat go a little dry. She couldn’t help but think that he looked even more gorgeous like this, up close and personal, with a few strands of his thick black hair falling into his eyes.

 

That’s when Betty finally noticed them. His eyes. His warm and striking, midnight blue eyes and she felt her heart leap into her throat when she suddenly realised why he recognized her. Why they were so familiar to her.

 

“Jughead?” she breathed in disbelief, staring at him in awe, completely stunned.

 

“The one and only, I haven’t seen you in ages, Betts,” he said, wrapping his arms around her in a warm and completely unexpected hug, one that Betty somehow managed to return even though he’d just knocked the air out of her lungs by using his old nickname for her.

 

Her first thought was that he smelt incredible and her second thought was that his body, lean, but strong and obviously more defined than it had been before, effortlessly cuddled hers as they held onto each other, and for as long as the moment lasted all she could think about was how amazing it felt or, more specifically, how amazing he felt pressed up against her.

 

“God, I can’t believe this! How’ve you been?” he asked, still smiling when he pulled back from the hug.

 

“Um good ... I’ve been good.“ Betty tried to smile easily, hoping that she didn’t sound as overwhelmed as she probably looked. He smirked a little though, clearly aware of the effect he had on her, and she was immensely grateful when her mother suddenly appeared, successfully drawing Jughead’s attention away from her for the briefest of moments.

 

It had been years - literally years - since she’d last seen Jughead Jones; the little, beanie wearing boy from the Southside who used to be her only friend and therefore her closest one at one point. He was different back then, younger for a start, innocent and oozing with shyness. Looking at him now though, it was clear that there was nothing remotely shy or innocent about the man talking to hermother right now.

 

She watched them for a moment, barely aware of what they were actually saying to each other while also trying to stop herself from staring at him or any part of him for too long. She couldn’t help it though, not when he looked like the most attractive man she had ever seen in her entire life.

She’d heard people say many times that puberty could do “wonders” for some people when it happened, but she never would’ve guessed that the sweet, little boy she used to build sand castles with and play-pretend with would end up looking like a goddamn sexy, tattooed biker.

 

 

Thinking back on it now, it was pretty obvious that their friendship had been borne purely out of circumstance and nothing else, given that their parents were good friends and used to see each other almost every single week.

 

They connected because they were the same age or maybe because it was just convenient in the beginning. He was someone she could play with or talk to during the regular meet ups their parents used to have. When they were at school though, they hardly spoke to each other (except on days when they were teased or bullied by their classmates and they stood up for each other) until that eventually changed as well.

 

By the time her parents decided to move away a couple of years later, they were real friends, true friends, close friends tragically torn apart by an unexpected and unfortunate change.

 

“- What do you think, Betty?”

 

It took her mom clearing her throat quietly and giving Betty a little nudge before she finally realised that the question had been directed at her. She could feel the blood rush to her cheeks in an instant, making her wish that the ground beneath her feet would just disappear and take her with it.

 

“I’m sorry, what?” Betty said, giving her head a slight shake and trying to ignore the way her mother was regarding her now.

 

“I was just saying that the two of you should go to the festival together seeing as you both have to be there for work anyway.”

 

“Oh, right. The festival.”

 

Betty was surprised and slightly confused by the suggestion until she noticed the strap across Jughead’s chest and the subsequent camera attached to it, hanging at his side.

 

She’d been told by her boss just a few days beforehand that a freelance photographer would be working at the annual Summer Festival as well and as luck or fate would have it, that freelance photographer had to be Jughead Jones.

 

 

“Yeah,” Jughead said, rubbing the back of his neck a little awkwardly, “I know it’s really random, but we might as well use the opportunity to catch up, right?” he smiled at her crookedly then and his eyes filled with a flicker of hope when the corners of her mouth pulled into a slight smile in return.

 

He kept his gaze fixed on her, digging his hands deeper into the pockets of his jeans while he waited for her to say something.

 

It definitely was random; the idea of spending the whole day with her one time best friend, but for some reason Betty couldn’t come up with a proper excuse not to do it. It couldn’t be a mistake. In fact, she was certain that it wouldn’t be, because even though it scared her immensely, she actually wanted to be around him and maybe get to know him, for more reasons than just because it would be convenient.

 

“Okay,” she said after a while, her voice soft and tinged with shyness, “I’d love to go.”

 

Honestly, what’s the worst that could happen?

 

 

~

 

 

As it turns out, agreeing to go to a festival with Jughead Jones was the probably the worst thing that could happen to her, but not for the reasons people would think.

 

As soon as her mother had left them alone in the parking lot together, he had suggested that they take his bike to get there, which ultimately landed Betty in a seemingly innocent scenario where all she had to do was sit behind him and hold on tight. By the time they arrived at the festival grounds, her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears that it actually felt like it was going to burst right out of her chest. It had nothing to do with being on the back of his bike though, and everything to do with being as close as possible to him for a whole ten minutes.

 

Her work ethic withered around him as well along with her usually diligent, focused and professional behavior. Strictly speaking it wasn’t his fault, but hers for allowing herself to be so effected by practically everything he did.

 

Whether he was taking pictures of the festivities around them or talking to her about something they saw while browsing the stalls together or if he was just walking around with her, she always ended up being distracted or feeling completely flustered by him in some way. If she hadn’t broken away from him for an hour to actually get some work done, to take in the lively crowds and merriment around her, she probably wouldn’t have anything to write about for her article.

 

For the most part though it was nice being around Jughead again and with every moment that passed between them, Betty started to realize that, despite his different outward appearance, he hadn’t changed as much as she thought he had.

 

He was still kind. Still intelligent. Still kept to himself. His mild mannered, yet caring nature still very much there even though it was tinged slightly with cynicism now. For obvious reasons they were a little awkward around each other at first, testing the waters before they slowly started to open up to each other again. But the more she experienced of him, the more she could see that he had become more sure of himself and she sometimes wondered what he must think of her.

 

 

 

It was late in the afternoon when Betty finally finished researching everything she needed for work and after vaguely recalling Jughead’s ever present love for eating while passing an ice cream stand, she bought two and found him lying under a nearby tree, eyes closed with his hands tucked behind his head.

 

“Hey,” she said, smiling a little when he opened an eye to look at her, “You didn’t have to wait for me.”

 

“Yeah I did,” he pushed himself up into a sitting position then and smiled when she handed him the ice cream, “I’m surprised you even recognized me, Betts.” he teased playfully.

 

Betty smiled and shook her head, wishing she hadn’t mentioned anything about not recognizing him when she’d seen him back at Pops earlier.

 

“Ha-ha, very funny,” she sat down with a sigh and leaned back against the tree same as him, completely exhausted. They ate their ice creams in a comfortable silence for a short while until she spotted his camera perched on his thigh. “Did you get all the shots you needed?” she asked, gesturing towards it.

 

“More than enough,” Jughead said, finishing off the the rest of his ice cream in a couple of bites, “Did you get everything you needed?”

 

“I did, thanks,” Betty took a bite out of her ice cream cone then and chewed on it thoughtfully, not entirely sure what to say next. “You know, I’m really glad I came today, but ...” she broke off then, breathing out a soft sigh.

 

“But?” he said, his voice soft and a little cautious, gently pressing her when she didn’t say anything for a while.

 

“It was just a little weird as well, I’m so used to everything changing around me all the time, but here it all feels exactly the same, you know what I mean?”

 

“I do,” Jughead nodded, his brow creasing, “Is that such a bad thing though?”

 

“I don’t know, I guess that’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

 

“Well,” he shifted closer then, his shoulder brushing against hers ever so slightly before he spoke again, “Look, you can take this anyway you want, but sometimes it’s nice to experience something that hasn’t changed and sometimes it’s nice to experience something that has. Obviously it can be bad as well, but when it evokes something good out of you like happiness or nostalgia, it’s usually worthwhile,” he paused then, rubbing the back of his neck almost nervously again, “My point is ... sometimes things need to change or they need to remain static and sometimes they need to be a little bit of both. I mean, look at you. You’ve changed, but you’re also still the same and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

 

She glanced at him then (wondering if she’d heard him correctly or if she’d simply imagined every word he’d just said) but he smiled at her when she did, the look in his clear blue eyes unwavering and genuine, making her heart flutter for the billionth time that day.

 

“I could say the same thing about you, Juggie.” she said quietly, her cheeks warming at the admission.

 

His smile stretched into a full blown grin at the use of his old nickname and he dipped his head a little, trying to hide the faint blush that covered his cheeks now as well. She noticed it anyway, feeling a familiar and gentle kind of warmth spread throughout her entire body, only heightened by the mere thought of her doing that to him.

 

Maybe, just maybe she could learn to like change.

 

 

~

 

 

*A month later*

 

 

Betty was by no means, an expert when it came to matters of the heart.

 

For the entirety of her 21 years on this planet, she’d only had two “relatively serious” boyfriends, who were both too good to be true and required a lot more effort than they were actually worth. Of course, her obvious lack of experience also meant that she usually couldn’t tell when a guy actually did like her and unfortunately her situation with Jughead was no different.

 

Or that’s what she thought.

 

In the month that passed since they had bumped into each other, they’d been spending a lot of time together, going to Pops, working on various articles (her the writer and him the photographer). They watched movies together both at home and at the Bijou and on other days they would go for long walks around town, talking for hours.

 

What eluded her though was the reasoning behind it

 

At first, Betty had told herself that it was just him trying to reignite their long forgotten friendship, but the more time she spent with him, the more she started to notice the tell-tale signs that his actions might have other intentions. The looks he gave her sometimes, the way he always found an excuse to try and touch her or the way he would engage in bouts of flirty banter with her every chance he got she was sure all pointed to one thing; he liked her. He really liked her and as more than just a friend.

 

Or at least she assumed that he did.

 

She sometimes wondered if she was reading too much into it or if she was just seeing what she wanted to see, because she desperately wanted to see it. Because despite Jughead’s newfound self confidence and all the apparent “signs” she kept on seeing, he hadn’t come close to making a move yet.

 

She knew that she hadn’t done anything to confuse or discourage him, if anything she’d been pretty obvious about her feelings for him from the very get go. She’d even considered making the first move herself at one point, but that little voice in the back of her head kept popping up whenever she tried, reminding her that she might be completely misreading the situation.

 

 

Betty looked at him then, trying to figure out what they meant to each other, and she smiled slightly when he reached up and tugged on the sides of his crown shaped beanie a little(the same one he always used to wear when they were kids).

 

It was raining outside and they were sitting on the couch in her mother’s apartment where they’d been all day, watching movies together. They were about halfway through Jurassic Park (their third movie of the day) when Jughead suddenly leaned in closer, pressing his shoulder into hers even more than it already was.

 

“You know this scene, where the T-Rex breaks through the roof of the car to get to Lex and Tim?” she nodded silently, trying to calm herself down when she felt his warm breath fan out against her already overheated skin, “That wasn’t part of the original scene or script, it was an accident and Spielberg decided to keep it, because of the genuine reaction he got out of the kids.”

 

Betty smiled. He liked to do that, tell her fun facts about the movies they were watching while they watched them. Some people would probably find that really pointless or annoying, but not her. If anything, his love for movies and knowledge of them only made her like him even more than she already did. He was still leaning into her when she turned her head and looked at him then, her heart thumping in her chest when she saw how close he was right now, his lips mere inches from hers. She glanced at them briefly and the air between them went still before she caught his eye again and, in a moment of pure bravery, leaned in and pressed her mouth to his.

 

The kiss was soft and lingering and it took everything Betty had inside her to pull back from it when she realised what she just had done. She kept her eyes shut, too afraid to open them and see the shock and possible rejection she could clearly picture on his face now. Heat flooded her cheeks and she felt like melting away into a puddle of shame in that moment, silently reprimanding herself for being so utterly foolish. She took a deep breath, hoping she hadn’t ruined everything.

 

“I’m sorry, I .... I don’t know why -“

 

But the rest of the sentence evaporated in the back of her throat when she felt his hands settle on her neck and his lips capture hers again, kissing her slowly and soundly, taking her breath away in a matter of seconds.

 

The feel of his lips against hers. The way his thumbs caressed her cheeks gently. How soft his hair felt when she slipped her fingers into it, knocking his beanie off as she went. The way he tasted when he deepened the kiss even more, his tongue sliding along her bottom lip, begging for entrance which she readily gave. Everything. All of it was better than she’d ever imagined and she’d imagined this happening between them quite a lot.

 

When they eventually pulled apart, both of them breathing heavily and with wide smiles firmly planted on their faces, all Betty wanted to do was pull him in and kiss him all over again. She opened her eyes slowly and the butterflies in her stomach fluttered when she saw the intense and ardent look in his stormy blue eyes, like he was thinking the exact same thing as her. Maybe even more.

 

“That was -“

 

“- amazing.” Betty finished with a light giggle.

 

“And long overdue.” Jughead added, chuckling along with her. He was about to lean forward again when the front door suddenly opened and her mother came in carrying some groceries, reluctantly forcing them to separate and pretend to focus on the film again.

 

“You two watching movies?” Alice asked casually, setting the bags down on the kitchen counter.

 

“Yup,” Betty said, glancing back at her mom briefly, “But we were thinking about going to Pops later.”

 

Alice nodded, regarding them both for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders and carried on with her business. Betty threw a sideways glance at Jughead then, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth when he took her hand and intertwined their fingers.

 

He glanced back as well, making sure Alice wasn’t looking before he leaned in close and whispered; “It’s a date, Betts.”

 

~

 

*Two weeks later*

 

 

When Alice announced one morning that Gladys Jones, Jughead and his sister Jellybean (or JB) would be coming over for dinner that evening, Betty tried to keep herself as calm as possible.

 

It had been two weeks. Two whole weeks since the kiss and her days since then had been filled with work, some family time and plenty of dates with her new boyfriend. Of course, hardly anyone knew that they were together and, truthfully, they wanted it to be that way. For a short while at least. Betty had to admit that it was a lot of fun whenever they met up, just the two of them sneaking around and heading off to places together. Inside and outside of Riverdale. She’d never been happier than she was right now and it was all because of him.

 

In fact, there was a part of her that never wanted this bubble to burst and she knew that there it wouldn’t be until they were ready, but having him come over for dinner with his family in tow would definitely present some ... interesting scenarios for them to deal with. Especially considering they could barely keep their hands (or lips) off each other these days.

 

Even so, she needed to be distracted from her thoughts. So she spent the whole day helping her mother prepare the dinner and, when the time came, she somehow kept herself remarkably calm when Jughead and his family finally arrived.

 

“You look amazing, Betts.” he whispered huskily in her ear when he pulled her in for a hug, his fingers smoothing over the white sundress she’d chosen to wear. She grinned against his neck, thinking that it normally wouldn’t be her first choice of clothing, but that it seemed warranted for tonight.

 

“So do you, Juggie.” she whispered back, surreptitiously taking in his maroon coloured sweater, his faded jeans and his beanie-less hair when they broke apart. She wasn’t used to seeing him like this, in anything but flannel and S t-shirts and it made her heart happy knowing that she wasn’t the only one who felt the need to impress.

 

As expected, dinner was almost unbearable to sit through, but it had nothing to do with the conversation or the company and everything to do with the amount of space that existedbetween her and Jughead.

 

They were seated on opposite sides of the table with JB in between them, forced to just sit there and look at each other the whole time. Of course, it didn’t help that Jughead kept on teasing her, eying her longingly while throwing smirks and subtle winks her way every chance he got. By the time dessert came, Betty was so worked up she could barely think, let alone remember a single word her mother and Gladys had said about the good old days or what JB’s impassioned views on why vinyl is better than CD’s.

 

When dinner ended and everyone moved into the sitting room for some coffee, Betty quietly excused herself and went straight to the bathroom, desperately needing a moment to try and compose herself. She was leaning with her back against the door, trying to steady her breathing when she heard someone knock on it softly. She sighed before she turned and opened it half expecting to see her mom, only to be stunned when she saw Jughead standing there instead.

 

“Juggie, what are you doing?” Betty murmured as he stepped into the room with her, closing and locking the door behind him.

 

She frowned and was just about to ask him what he was doing again when his hands were suddenly on her hips and he turning her, pressing her back up against the door and settling his mouth over hers in a deep and thorough kiss, one that made her head spin and left her sagging against him when they eventually parted.

 

“Sorry,” he mumbled breathlessly, dropping his forehead onto hers, “I just had to do that before I went completely nuts.”

 

Betty smiled at his confession and looped her arms around his neck, reaching up to press her mouth to his again in a slow, sweet kiss. Despite how effected she clearly was by him, it made her heart stutter and soar knowing that she wasn’t the only one.

 

“The feeling’s mutual, Jug but -“ she paused and noticeably swallowed when he gripped her hips a little more and leaned in even closer, skimming his lips along slope of her neck, barely kissing as he went, “- but we should ...” she lost all train of thought then and the air in her throat hitched when his mouth found her already erratic pulse point, sucking on the skin there with enough pressure to drive her crazy, but not to mark. “- but we .. we should ... k-keep going.”

 

Jughead smirked against her neck and slowly trailed one of his hands down until he reached the hem of her dress, his fingers tracing up and along her bare thigh until he found the edge of her panties. He brought his lips back up to hers and kissed her again, a low growl escaping from his throat when Betty slipped her hands under his sweater and tugged on it, silently asking for it to be removed.

 

They’d only done this a handful of times - in private and, to her surprise, in public spaces as well - and doing it now, in a bathroom with their families right down the hall, went beyond the very definition of reckless in every sense of the word. They both knew the risks though. They knew that they could get caught at any moment and that it would be incredibly awkward if they were. But they didn’t seem to care. Not right now anyway, their need for this and for each other more profound and overwhelming than anything else, including reason.

 

Working quickly, Betty helped him remove his sweater, her eyes raking over his lean, but strong body as soon as she got the chance. God, how can he be so unbelievably sexy, she wondered, skimming her fingers over the defined grooves of his torso and the array of tattoos inked on his arm. She slipped her arms around his waist and pressed herself up against him, their mouths and tongues meeting in a series of heavy, intoxicating kisses.

 

“Remember, you have to be quiet, Betts.” he murmured the words against her lips as he hiked up the skirt of her dress, his fingers brushing over the front of her panties lightly. She closed her eyes and nodded, biting down on her bottom lip to hold back the moan building in her throat when he dipped his fingers into her silky folds.

 

“God baby, you’re so wet for me already.” Jughead groaned, breathing unevenly against her neck as he worked her slowly. 

 

“Only for you, Juggie ....” Betty stammered out, whimpering softly when he slipped a finger inside her and then another, stoking the heat in her lower abdomen every time he moved. They kissed thoroughly and as often as possible to stay quiet. Shebraced herself against him and held on for dear life, dragging her nails over the plains of his back when she felt herself slowly building towards release, the feeling only intensifying with every short second that passed.

 

“Juggie - don’t .... don’t stop.” she whined and arched into him when his fingers hits a particularly sweet spot, his lips moving with hers in a deep and hungry kiss right before she cried out and fell apart at his touch.

 

Breathing heavily, Betty pressed her face into the crook of his neck, sated and flushed with euphoria, her body still quivering as Jughead held her close and continued to stroke her gently, until she calmed down. They both giggled then, the soft sound breaking up the silence around them and she smiled when he shifted slightly and his lips found hers again, giving her a slow, wet and sexy kiss. They stayed like that for what felt like hours, holding onto each other, both of them most likely thinking that there was no better feeling in the world than this. Than being right here.

 

“We should probably get back out there before they start to suspect something.” Betty eventually said, pressing her lips to his neck in a soft kiss.

 

“Mmm, I guess you’re right.” Jughead mumbled with a rueful sigh, giving her one more lingering kiss before he finally - reluctantly - let her go. They righted themselves quickly after that, stealing a few more kisses in between just for good measure.

 

With her smile still firmly in place, Betty left the bathroom first and she was beyond relieved when she found her mother, Gladys and JB exactly where she’d left them before, still deeply embroiled in their previous conversation. She sat down with a sigh, feeling a small thrill of reckless excitement shoot through her when she realised that they’d gotten away with their little “intimate” rendezvous completely scot-free.

 

When Jughead came out a couple of minutes later, looking calm and a little too casual, he smirked and sat down beside her, close enough so that there was no space between them, both of them barely noticing the way JB shook her head and rolled her eyes knowingly at them.

 

In all honesty, Betty didn’t mind. In fact, for once in her life she didn’t regret anything that had happened over the last couple of months, mostly because of what it had lead her to. At first, she’d thought that moving back to Riverdale would be a reasonable, but ultimately lackluster change. Now though, she couldn’t picture being anywhere else and she knew that it was all because of Jughead.

 

She often thought about what he’d said to her that day after the festival, that change can actually be a good thing, and all she could think about after that was how different her life would be right now if her mother hadn’t decided moved back home or if they hadn’t gone to have breakfast at Pops that morning.

 

Betty found Jughead’s hand then,linking their fingers together when she did, smiling to herself when his thumb started drawing small circles into her skin, etching them there forever.

 

She smiled because she was happy.

 

Because she hadn’t seen him coming and for once she was really glad that she hadn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts and Comments are always appreciated!!


End file.
